Strawberry Theatre Workshop is building a repertoire of person-in-society plays that, recently, have included an intriguing look at filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl; a laugh-out-loud, musical take on the life of Johannes Gutenberg; and now a captivating portrait of Joseph (aka John) Merrick, the Elephant Man. It's like having a live Biography Channel with really eclectic tastes. more ›

Besides being in the running for Owner of the World's Most Glamorous Name, Katjana Vadeboncoeur plays the maternal hen Aunt Julia in blahblahblahBANG at On the Boards. To make a point of it, she sips then spits up her tea into a cup, complete with birdlike neck spasms, and hands it to her beloved, coddled nephew Yorgen Tesman -- who drinks it, onstage, to an audience of wrinkled noses. If you're an Ibsen fan (blahblahblahBANG is WET's precocious interpretation of Hedda Gabler) this subtextual underlining may just elicit a desire to see the original. The difference here is that it's not a matter of moral fiber or willfulness. WET's cast reacts to their socially caged life with the stereotyped behavior of unhappy parrots, literally climbing the walls. Again and again, WET reminds you that they are real people doing real things, disgusting, sexy, risky things. If it's not "perfect," it's compelling as a high-wire act. more ›

The first thing we noticed about Crumbs Are Also Bread is that its set is yet another magical emanation from the mind of Jennifer Zeyl. WET's stage isn't large, but somehow the frozen Midwestern town of Breadmouth fits on it: the town square, bedrooms, kitchens, backyards, the icy river. Even a full moon appears. Trees with bare branches, disquietingly, grow upside down. more ›

[Ed. note: This post brought to you by our newest Seattlest contributor, Audrey Hendrickson. Welcome to Seattlest, Audrey.] more ›